Terms of Use

SANAD — the RefGuard · Effective 16 August 2026

In short: SANAD is free and open-source software under the GNU AGPL-3.0. You may use, study, share, and modify it under that licence. It is provided “as is”, with no warranty, and it is a citation assistant — you remain responsible for your own scholarship.

1. Acceptance

By installing or using SANAD — the RefGuard (“SANAD”, “the software”) — including the desktop application and the Microsoft Word add-in — you agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, do not install or use the software.

2. Licence

SANAD is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3 (AGPL-3.0). That licence is the governing licence for the software and grants you the right to run, copy, study, modify, and redistribute it under its terms. The full text is included with the software and at gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0. These Terms supplement, and do not replace, that licence; if anything here conflicts with the AGPL-3.0, the AGPL-3.0 governs the software licence.

3. It’s an assistant, not an authority

SANAD helps you find likely citation problems and suggests improvements — it suggests, you decide. It does not guarantee that any citation, reference, or bibliography is complete, correct, or compliant with any particular style or institutional requirement. You are responsible for reviewing and verifying your own work. SANAD is not a substitute for scholarly judgement or for your institution’s own rules.

4. No warranty

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, consistent with sections 15–17 of the AGPL-3.0.

5. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall the author or copyright holders be liable for any claim, damages, or other liability — including any loss of data, loss of academic standing, or other loss — arising from or in connection with the software or its use.

6. Your data

SANAD is local-first and collects no personal data. How your library and documents are handled is described in the Privacy Policy.

7. Independence & trademarks

SANAD is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Microsoft. “Microsoft”, “Word”, and “Office” are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation; other names are the property of their respective owners, used only to describe compatibility.

8. Changes

These Terms may be updated; the current version is always published at this URL with its effective date. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated Terms.

9. Contact

Questions? Open an issue or reach the maintainer via the project’s GitHub.